


Tome S3

by Triforceriku



Series: T.O.M.E S3 [1]
Category: TOME: Terrain of Magical Expertise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-09-26 19:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20394955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triforceriku/pseuds/Triforceriku





	1. First Login + Tutorial

**Signing in**

**.**

**..**

**...**

**No username found.**

**Create a new account? No ->_Yes_**

**Enter Username: Skripkitty**

**Enter Password: ***********

**Confirm Password: ***********

**Select character creation method:**

**Automatic Manual ->_Scan_**

**Please place reference image into the designated area**

**...**

**Image found!**

**Scanning......**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...Scan successful!**

**Please select Race, Class, and Element.**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**You have chosen: Neutral Animalistic Brawler**

**Is this correct? No ->_YES_**

**Character creation successful!**

**Please select server**

**...**

**Now logging into server S3....**

**Welcome,**

**to the new and improved**

** _ Terrain of Magical Expertise! _  
**

The screen fades white, before a giant landmass comes into view.

Behind it is a large map of the world, yet that seems to be of little importance compared to the floating continent presented in front.

You've seen what the original TOME looked like when you looked it up prior to creating your account, but there appears to be a number of additions to those images.

The green field, cityscape, and lavender mountainous regions, while familiar, seem to have updated in appearance. In addition, there are crimson mountains behind the purple mountain, golden clouds high above the green fields, and a few more floating island structures. There's even what appears to be a body of water surrounding the mainland. Everything feels so, so

Big?

Bigger?

a _LOT _bigger, actually

You're moving toward it all at an alarming speed!

Guess among all the sight-seeing, the game figured you were idling and decided it was gonna choose your starting point for you!

You begin rocketing toward the lavender mountain regions, and before you know it.

** _*SLAM*_ **

You're on solid ground.

...

...

...

...

...

....."oh, wait, can I move?"

The character on screen moves.

"Oh, there we go. Thought there'd be, like, a tutorial or something to start me off. Guess we're getting right into it."

Standing atop the purple earth was a small, chibi styled, cat-like figure. It wore a bright purple shirt, with sleeves that are _way _too long for it, and timberland boots. The butters, if you will.

A simple design, but it gets the point across.

The figure begins making its way forward, hoping for an end goal of sorts. The view pans to another screen as it reaches the edge of the previous one. There's a small creature that looks like it's made of jelly.

"Tutorial enemies are slime monsters?" The cat figure's player snarks. "Yeah, that's _real_ original. But I guess you can't really beat the classics."

They walk the cat up to the slime, and as soon as the two sprites come into contact, the cat hops back and takes a pose.

"Wait, this is it? No transition? We're just in the fight now?"

The cat moves back an forth.

"Wait, are we? I can still move freely, it looks like"

The slime hops toward the cat before bashing its body into it. A small "-1" pops out of the cat.

"Oh shoot, this _**IS**_ the fight! I thought this was turn-based!"

It used to be, but not anymore.

The purple clad cat moved in onto the slime creature, letting off a barrage of attacks. Before long, the monster was nothing more than a splat on the ground, before despawning from existence.

"Alrighty, that was cool! I'm liking how this plays so far."

The cat moved along to the next screen of the tutorial. An small window of text appears on-screen, containing information on how to perform certain moves.

"Let's see here; 'If you made it this far, that means you know how to do basic attacks, now let's move onto Special Moves.' Okay, then."

Two more slime creatures appear in front of the cat, and another battle ensues. 

"'Each character has a set of special moves that can vary depending on their race, class, and element. They all have a variety of uses and are more than capable of turning the tides of battle in a pinch. They range from single target attacks and healing, to field covering explosions and status debuffs.' Alright, lemme see what I've got."

Upon selecting a special attack, the cat takes a stance before letting out a quick outward claw swipe, dealing damage to both slimes. They, too, end up being reduced to marks on the ground before boop-ing away. Another text window appears.

"'Looks like you took some damage during one of your battles' Yeah, like one point." The player joked. "'Open your menu up to take a look at your items. These can be used both on the field and during battle to heal, remove status effects, and even give temporary boosts!' Neat." 

After healing up, the cat moves to the next screen.

"Huh, I'm not making it walks, what's going on?"

Text appears on the screen

**"Look's like you've got the basics down."**

"Oh, cutscene, gotcha."

**"As your adventure continues, you'll learn much _much _more than you did here. Aim to be the best, and most skillful warrior in the virtual world. But above all else; Have fun, play well, and Battle On!**

The screen fades white once again as a loading screen with gameplay tips appears.

"That was a short tutorial, but I guess the gameplay isn't _too_ complex. 'S fun, though."

* * *

After the loading screen disappears, the cat appears in another region, this one covered in lush, green grass. Text appears on screen.

** _Sanctuary;_ **

Many other players are standing around, socializing in the same area. There are character designs of insane varieties, each more unique than the last. It's almost overwhelming!

"Guess I'd better start looking around for, like, an objective or something."

The cat player starts looking around for, like, an objective or something.

As they search, they take in a lot of the sights that the grassland area has to offer. Forests, lakes, small camps, cliff-sides, the whole shebang. But what really caught their eye, was one wooded area with giant statues of what appear to be important figureheads.

there were seven in all; One looked like a chess piece, a king perhaps.

Another was mushroom shaped.

Next was one that looked somewhat angelic.

The last four were a little harder to determine, two humanoids and what could be a knight of sorts.

"Hm, I wonder what these are all about." The cat player wondered.

"Oh these? These are the Netkings." A voice spoke from off the side, startling our player.

"AHAHAH?? Wh-Where'd you come from?"

Another character sprite stepped out from the trees. They were a small, wizard-like character, clad in a yellow and gold color scheme.

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no, it's okay, I just wasn't expecting to hear from anybody."

"Well, that's sorta what happens when you keep your VC open for anybody to join."

"Oh, uh, yeah, right. Sorry, I'm kinda new here."

"No yeah, I get it. Everyone's first login to TOME is a bit wacky. But you get used to it over time."

Yeah, that sounds fair. So, not to be rude or anything," The young cat player began, not trying to be rude. "But who are you again?"

"No, you're alright," The mage assured. "I'm Aurumage, you can call me Aurum if you want. I'm just another player here, nothing too crazy. S, what are you looking for, Skripkitty?"

"Oh, I-WAIT." The cat interrupted. "How do you know my username?!"

"Says right over your avatar, buddy."

In big, bold letters even. Skripkitty was embarrassed to not have noticed, even after passing by crowds of other player characters.

"O-oh, yeah." She stammered.

"Hoo, boy." Aurumage sighed. "Sounds like you're gonna need some help around here, huh? Well, if you'll allow me, I'd be more than willing to show you around for some time."

"Uh, yeah, that- that sounds nice."

"Cool, follow me."

The two began making their way through different areas of Sanctuary;, with Aurumage telling Skripkitty the basics of TOME's gameplay and all around structure. Throughout most of his informational tour, Skripkitty felt something was noticeably absent from it all.

"Uh, hey," She spoke up, "I don't mean to interrupt all this but, when do we get to the battling?"

"Battles, huh? Well, we're in the completely wrong area for that. The area we're in right now, Sanctuary; is all about socializing. Battles happen elsewhere."

"Oh, really?" Skrip said disappointingly. "So, is there, like, a level restriction for that or....?"

"Nope. If you want, we can go look for some trouble. No promises some big timers won't wipe the floor with you, though."

Yeah, Skrip didn't consider higher leveled players. But figuring it'd all be a part of the experience, she decided not to pay it any mind. 

"Hey, it's how I learn, right?" She said, sheepishly.

"That's the naive spirit! C'mon, we can fast travel there." 

And with that, Aurumage disappeared from Skripkitty's screen, leaving her behind. About two full minutes passed before she got a PM from him, giving her directions on how to use the fast travel system, and within time she teleported to where he was waiting.


	2. A Great Start

Skripkitty and Aurumage find themselves wandering through familiar lavender ground. Skrip's mind immediately flashes back to the tutorial areas.

"Yeah, this makes sense." She said.

"What does?"

"That the battle tutorial and the main battle area would look the same. Gives that sense of familiarity, y'know?"

Loads of other players littered the screen. Many of their avatars were facing each other, with small crowds of other players standing by. Most likely spectating ongoing battles. There was a noticeable grid-like pattern below players that seemed to be battling.

"Okay, so how does this work, exactly?" Skripkitty asked. "Is there some sort of system to this? Like how do I start a fight?"

"Usually, I find going up to somebody and asking 'hey, you wanna start a fight?' works pretty well most of the time."

Skripkitty looked across the sea of player avatars, hoping to find someone similar to her level. Clicking around on names to check levels, she came to find that she was the lowest leveled player there, with any levels lower than 10 appearing on-screen being a rare find. Even the softest of avatar designs had some hefty experience under their belt.

This presents a problem.

"Soooooo," Skripkitty began, "Is this like one of those games where the higher level you are, the higher your defense is and the less damage you take and all that?"

"That _would_ be unfair for beginner players, wouldn't it?" Aurumage said. "Luckily the only stat buffs available upon leveling up are HP, SP, and EP. All the defensive stats are based on equipping items, so you _should_ be fine. Just be careful of who has what."

_So as long as I avoid their heavy hitting moves, I should be good, _Skripkitty's player thought to herself. She moved further into the crowd, and hardly got a second to get her bearings before she got a battle notification.

A grid appeared below her feet, and the screen did a dramatic zoom in on her character. Before she knew it, she was in a Battle Scene, facing off against a small imp-like creature. It was Lv.12, compared to Skripkitty's Lv.1. 

"Alright, cool! My first real battle. Here's to a good fight!"

Her opponent didn't reply, choosing actions over words. They rushed toward her, with an onslaught of attacks that she could only just barely avoid. The two players dashed around the grid covered ground for some time, before the imp began throwing projectiles. After a few seconds, Skripkitty's HP was reduced to zero, and the word _**LOSE **_appeared over her character as it lay on the ground. The camera did a dramatic movement again, this time zooming out.

"Aw, that's a loss," Skripkitty said, disappointed but still positive, "That was fun, thou-"

Before she got the chance to thank her fellow player, he was already wandering away without a word, looking for another fight. Skripkitty decided to give a look a her opponent's profile as they were battling another foe, only to be met with an error message.

"'_This profile cannot be viewed_', what? Why not?"

"Ah, looks like he blocked you." Aurumage answered.

"What? What for? I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, some players are like that. 'One-N-Done's' we call them. They like to go in one-on-one matches, get a win, leave, and block their opponent so they can't get a rematch. Fortunately, Lavendera; doesn't give EXP in player matches, but they do get Renown."

"Well that sucks, what does Reno-"

"Absolutely nothing," Aurumage interrupts. "Makes some people feel special, though."

Skripkitty didn't feel special. She actually felt pretty crummy after that stunt. But she couldn't let that stop her from enjoying this new experience.

Speaking of experience....

"Okay, I need to level up sooner than later. I wanna get better at this game, get a better grasp of the mechanics, get wins, get-"

"Get good?" Aurumage interrupted, again.

Skripkitty turned her character to face his. There are no emotions on her avatar, but that motion coupled with the silence was enough to get her feelings across loud and clear.

The two then made their way to another area, finding new challengers for Skripkitty to face, with EXP to be won. She started out as any beginner would, running to avoid attacks with small attempts at fighting back. But as time went on, she began striking down the AI controlled opponents, and grinding EXP to gain levels. 

Time and again, she would make her way back toward the player filled battlegrounds of Lavendera; to take on challengers, only to lose again and again.

Some players would leave without a word, others would congratulate her on a job well done and even give her tips on how to fight. But at the end of the day, Skripkitty was still quite new to the mechanics of TOME, and she knew that it would take some time before she'd become an expert. 

"Hey, Skrip," Aurumage began, "Why don't we try looking for some double battles?"

"Wait, doubles are a thing in this?" She asked. "I feel like you could've said something sooner, really would've helped me out."

"Well, yeah, but I wanted to make sure you had a solid grasp on things first before throwing you into something completely new like this. Whaddya say?"

Skripkitty simply replied with a thumbs up emote, which appeared over her avatar's head.

"Great, lemme get it set up, then."

A small circular grid shape appeared at the feet of both their avatar characters. The word _**Waiting...**_appeared over their heads.

"Now we wait for challengers to come up, easy." Aurumage informed. 

It didn't take long for said challengers to come up. A young mage character joined by a draconic turtle stepped up and, as expected, brought the scene to a battle.

The turtle immediately charged toward Skripkitty, but was intercepted by Aurumage. 

"Don't let your guard down, Skrip!" He said, holding the turtle back.

Taking initiative, Skripkitty made her way behind the turtle and got a few scratch attacks in. Aurumage followed up with a barrage of energy bullets. The two continued whittling down the turtle's health, before Skripkitty remembered that this was a double battle. 

"Hang on, where's-"

Before she could finish her thought, she took notice of a bright light. The mage had been charging an attack for the entirety of the match, with their turtle companion acting as a distraction. Seeing this as a chance for an attack of her own, Skripkitty charged toward the mage.

"Uh, hey, a little help?" The mage called toward her comrade.

The turtle diverted his attention from Aurumage, and began making his way toward the young cat. Immediately, Skripkitty stopped in her tracks, before changing her direction toward the turtle. Catching him off guard, she tackled him, sending his avatar toward Aurumage. He fired a dark laser toward the turtle, who retaliated with a fiery breath attack.

At this point, the mage had finished charging her attack, and was ready to let loose at any second. 

"It's done!" The mage called to her partner through her mic.

"Do it! Shoot!" The turtle called back. 

Light began emanating from the mage, which was a red flag for Skripkitty. She thought of a plan to save her ally, it was quick and not the smartest, but was _something._

_**"Piccolooo, DO IIIIIIIIIIIIT"**_ The turtle called to his ally, making a reference.

Skripkitty charged toward Aurumage, and tackled him, taking fire damage from the turtle's firebreath as the mage's giant laser approached. Skripkitty and Aurumage were safely out of the blast's range. The turtle was not so lucky. He was immediately erased, with a _**LOSE**_appearing where he once stood. The mage girl was left on her own, her wand still smoking from the large display of magic she just let loose.

"Uh, oops." She whimpered.

Without missing a beat, Aurumage and Skripkitty moved in at high speed, and combined their efforts to take down the mage girl. Which didn't take much, turns out she had been putting all of her level up stats exclusively on her SP, allowing for more and stronger magical options, at the cost of having the endurance of wet tissue.

The battle was won! And the screen did its usual dramatic zoom out. A rather large crowd had been spectating the match. 

"Wooo! that was fun!" 

"You two are pretty good as a team," The turtle said. "Been playing long?"

"Nah, she's actually new," Aurumage said, referring to Skripkitty. "Just started playing earlier today."

"Well she's pretty good for a beginner, I've gotta say," The mage added in. "You, on the other hand, I expected no less from a Lv.20 Spellcaster."

20!?

"20!?" Skripkitty exclaimed. "You never told me you were that good!"

"You never looked, it's right there in front of you."

Having checked the stats of other players during her time playing, it had never crossed Skripkitty's mind to check Aurumage's level. 

"....you right."

"So, how's another round sound? You guys wanna go again?" The turtle offered. "Name's ShellshoQ, by the way."

"I'm Sh1n1ngSt4r, nice to meet you guys."

"I'm Aurumage, and this is Skripkitty. Personally, I'm always down for another round, but I think it depends on her input this time around. Whaddya say, Skrip?"

Behind her screen, Skripkitty's player was a smiley mess. After such a rocky start, she was happy to have such a smooth start toward meeting people in TOME. 

"I say, let's do it! Nice to meet you two!"

The four then had another round to themselves, this time lasting much longer than the previous match. They had managed to bring even some of Lavendera;'s best players around to watch.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a different, more remote part of Lavendera;, away from the hustle and bustle of battles, two players were returning after a long time of being away. Coming down from the sky in their respective pillars of light, were two seasoned TOME veterans, ready to step foot into a new and improved Terrain.

"Okay, I'm already seeing some changes, the artstyle looks completely different." One said. His voice sounded a bit youthful. "I kinda like it, though."

"Yeah, it's gonna take some getting used to on my end." The other said. His voice was deeper. "UI looks good, though. 

The two took a moment to look around.

"Is Lavendera;.......darker? It feels like they're using a darker shade of purple, now."

"Man, I dunno, it's been forever since we last played.....when _did_ we last play?"

"I think it was about a year or so ago? Give or take?"

"Oh yeah, we had that 1v1!"

"That I won."

There was a moment of silence between the two.

"Yeah. That you won."

"C'mon, let's see if we can find anyone familiar, I'm pretty sure we've still got some folks around here we used to hang with."

The two then made their way through Lavendera;, searching for old friends and new faces.


End file.
